Everyday Thursday

Okay, is everyone done with the political and philosophical/sociological whatever posts for now? I am. Phew. Who knew it would almost be a relief to get back to talking about obsessive compulsive disorder?

Considering this is an Everyday Thursday post, though, we will go more general and ease back into our normal programming gently. Between today and the last time I did a “regular” Everyday Thursday post, much has happened, the most “eventful” thing probably being a trip my husband and I took to New York City.

Trip recap

So how did I do? How did my OCD do on a trip to NYC? Well, overall pretty well.

I realized early into the trip that I didn’t bring any hand sanitizer. This may have been due to oversight, but it was good. At first I was shocked and a little worried, but then it was almost a relief. Not having it allowed me to not have to tempt myself with using it or not. I just couldn’t. It wasn’t there.

Illness worries

I also was getting over/in between having a cold, and my husband had a cold, so I had a lot of chances to immerse myself in the discomfort of the possibility that we could be getting other people sick.

I did fail a little bit on the plane with my OCD, though, when my husband dropped my book on the floor and I wouldn’t read it and avoided touching it after that—I have a hypothesis that I got the flu one time after a trip because I had been cleaning up the floor with some napkins after my daughter spilled orange juice on the plane. Since that point, airplane floors are not my favorite. I mean, I don’t even know if that’s how I got sick… but it could be. Thanks, OCD.

Other than that, I tried to be like a “normal” person on our trip—going on the subway and touching the handrails, eating out, opening doors, trying on clothes, etc. I even felt a little off one day (I blame the reuben sandwich at Katz’s Deli), but I tried to soldier through and not let the OCD convince me I was probably horribly contagious and ill. I just ate less and drank a coke.

A hiccup

There was one incident related to my contamination OCD that led me to enact a change of wardrobe for a later day in the trip… and I admit, that was probably a minor setback in my fight… (but I also bought some new clothes in NYC so it provided an excuse to wear those).

As I’ve written before, traveling with OCD isn’t always enjoyable, but I’d say that it was less intrusive this time than it has been in the past. Maybe not bringing along the kids helped a bit with that, but either way, I’d call the trip a success!